1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wine refrigerator, and particularly, to a vibration-absorbing supporting apparatus of a wine refrigerator capable of preventing shaking of wine bottles stored in a wine refrigerator due to external vibration.
2. Description of the Background Art
A refrigerator is provided with a refrigerating cycle system therein. An evaporator constituting the refrigerating cycle system generates the cool air, and the cool air circulates inside the refrigerator, so that the interior of the refrigerator is maintained in a cooled state.
Such a refrigerator can be classified into a variety of types according to its structural characteristics, and is being developed into a variety of kinds according to kinds of items stored therein.
Recently, a cosmetic refrigerator and a wine refrigerator have been developed for storing cosmetics and wine bottles in an optimum state without quality deterioration.
Like a general refrigerator, the wine refrigerator includes: a main body provided with a storing compartment in which wine bottles are stored; and a door mounted at one side of the main body, for opening or closing the storing compartment.
A refrigerating cycle system is provided at the main body, and, in the refrigerating cycle system, a compressor and a condenser for generating vibration noise and heat are mounted in a machine room provided at a lower portion of the main body.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a lower portion of a conventional wine refrigerator, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a lower portion of the wine refrigerator.
As shown, the wine refrigerator has a mounting space (R) of a predetermined size at a rear side of a lower portion of the main body 100 having therein a storing compartment. A bottom plate 110 having a predetermined area is coupled to a lower surface of the main body 100 by a plurality of screws, and a cover 200 for covering a rear side of the mounting space (R) is coupled to a rear surface of the lower portion of the main body 100 by a plurality of screws 210.
The bottom plate 110 covers the lower surface of the mounting space (R) of the main body 100. The bottom plate 110 and the mounting space (R) form a machine room.
A compressor 300 is installed at the bottom plate 110 and placed in the machine room, a control box 400 is mounted to a side wall of the machine room, and a defrosted-water tray 500 is installed at an upper surface of the machine room above the compressor 300. Water generated as frost melts in the evaporator (not shown) gathers and evaporates in the defrosted-water tray 500.
The compressor 300 includes: a hermetic container 310 and a plurality of mounting plates 320 coupled to a bottom of the hermetic container 310. A suction pipe 330 and a discharged pipe 340 for sucking and discharging of a refrigerant are connected to the hermetic container 310, respectively. Also, the suction pipe 330 is connected with the evaporator, and the discharge pipe 340 is connected to a condenser (not shown) constituting the refrigerating cycle system.
A vibration-proof rubber 350 for suppressing vibration transmission is provided between the mounting plate 320 of the compressor and the bottom plate 110.
Front legs 120 for supporting the main body 100 are coupled to corners of both sides of the front of the bottom plate 110 mounted at the lower surface of the main body 100, respectively. Two rear legs 130 for supporting the main body 100 are coupled to the rear of the bottom plate 110 at a certain interval therebetween.
The front leg 120 includes: a rotation supporting portion 121 formed as a cylindrical shape with a certain length and having protrusions formed on its outer circumferential surface at regular intervals; a shaft portion 122 extending from the rotation supporting portion 121 at a certain length; and a male screw portion formed at an end portion of the shaft portion 122.
A female screw portion (not shown) is formed at a front corner of the bottom plate 110 placed at the lower surface of the main body 100. By threading of the male screw portion into the female screw portion of the main body 100, the front leg 120 is coupled to the lower surface of the main body 100.
The rear leg 130 is formed as a rotatable roller.
A roller mounting portion 111 is penetratingly formed at the rear of the bottom plate 110 coupled to the lower surface of the main body 100. The roller, the rear leg 130, is inserted in the roller mounting portion 111, and a coupling pin 131 having a predetermined length is penetratingly inserted in the roller, so that the roller is coupled to the bottom plate 110.
The front leg 120 not only supports the wine refrigerating but also rotates the rotating supporting portion 121, thereby controlling a height. Thus, a horizontal and vertical state of the main body 100 to a floor is properly maintained. Also, because the rear leg 130 comprises a roller, it can support the wine refrigerator together with the front leg 120, and allows a smooth movement of the wine refrigerator during relocation.
Undescribed reference mark 360 is a dryer, 220 is an air hole, and ‘D’ is a door.
In general, wine undergoes ripening even in a wine bottle. Therefore, in order to keep unique flavor of wine, handling and storing of bottled wine requires special care and efforts. In handing and storing of bottled wine, especially, issues on a temperature, sunshine, humidity, and shaking and a horizon state of a bottle should be handled attentively.
In a developing process for a wine refrigerator, issues on sunshine, humidity and horizontal state can be relatively easily solved. However, it is difficult to handle issues on the proper temperature maintaining and the vibration preventing of the wine bottle, and lots of related researches are actively ongoing.
Despite such efforts, the conventional wine refrigerator has the following problems. If the wine refrigerator is installed in a room or other places and vibration is generated from a refrigerator or other appliances installed near the wine refrigerator, the vibration is transmitted to the wine refrigerator through a floor and thus vibrates the wine refrigerator. Consequently, wine bottles stored in the wine refrigerator are undesirably shaken. Namely, the main body 100 of the wine refrigerator is supported on a floor by the front legs 120 and the rear legs 130. Thus, if vibration is generated at the floor which is in contact with the front legs 120 and the rear legs 130, the vibration is transmitted to the main body 100 through the front legs 120 and the rear legs 130, thereby causing undesirable vibration of the main body 100. As the main body 100 is vibrated, wine bottles stored in the main body 100 are shaken, degrading unique flavor of wine.